Abstract
Government normally empowers relevant agencies to undertake urban renewal to clean up the slums of a city so as to make it look beautiful in accordance with the new layout plan prepared for it. In the course of doing this in developing countries however; many unintended socioeconomic and health consequences especially forceful evictions and internal displacement of persons leading to ill health usually happen. The focus of this paper is to examine the health implications of urban renewal on residents of Ogun State, Southwestern Nigeria. In the last five years, massive renewal has been undertaken in five local government areas (LGAs)-Abeokuta North, Ado/Odo Ota, Sagamu, Yewa South and Ijebu Ode of the State from which two-Abeokuta North and Ado-Odo/Ota were purposively selected to carry out this study. Primary data through administration of structured questionnaires to randomly selected 380 affected displaced persons within the age range of 25 years and above, who either had their houses or shops demolished formed the source of data. Results from logistic regressions show that urban renewal has significant effects on IDPs' health status because persons whose houses or shops were demolished and were subsequently displaced were twelve times more likely to lose sound sleep (odds ratio= 12.08; p<0.01) and also have serious issues with loss of appetite (p<0.01) and sadness (p<0.01). These are all symptoms of depression as captured in the case definition of depression from American Psychological Association (APA). Recommendations were given thereafter to ameliorate such side-effects in subsequent similar endeavor in Nigeria.